866 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



ii pure Merino or n half-ltred lamb. Tables are subiuitled sliowinp; tlie develop- 

 iiieiil of lambs of tlu> various crosses. 



" It Is not necessarily the lambs (Iropi)e(l earliest in the season that arc heav- 

 iest in early sprlnj^. I'articularly was this noticeable in 11)07 in the case of 

 half-bred Dorset-Horn lambs. Thus, with them we find the heaviest lambs of 

 Sei)tember "> represented l)y those dropped between May 11 and 2'.i attaining at 

 this time 7S^ lbs., while those dropped between April 21 and May 10 come sec- 

 ond with an average weight of nearly 77 lbs., while those droi)i>ed between April 

 10 and 20 come third on the list with only 7;U lbs. of average weight. With a 

 half-bred Shroiishire we find the lambs droi)i)ed in the second period about i lb. 

 ahead of those dropped in the tirst period, while lambs of the third iieriod are 

 a long way behind either of the fornwr. With the half-bred Southdowns. on tlie 

 other hand, the average weight of the lambs is always directly proportional to 

 the length of their days. . . . Short-wool crosses. Merino crossed with Dorset- 

 Horn, or :Merino crossed with Shropsliire, and perhaps tlie smaller Merino 

 crossed with Southdown, give the best tyite of ewe for our conditions." 



Steer-feeding experiments 1907-8, T. I. Mairs and W. H. Tomiiave (Penn- 

 ■^yhdiiid Sin. liiil. N.s. />/^ .i-irt. //V/s-. (1. clKtrt.s 2). — To secure data as to the 

 best ratio of total dry matter to digestible matter the authors compared, with 

 2 lots of 12 fattening steers, a limited grain ration with a full grain ration, each 

 being fed in connection with corn silage, mixed hay, and corn stover for rough- 

 age. The experiment began October 30 and ended February 6. 



" Both lots received the same Ivind of feed, consisting of brolsen ear corn and 

 cotton-seed meal as concentrates, corn silage in the morning, and in tlie even- 

 ing mixed hay to December 12, and corn stover from that time to the close 

 of the exi)eriment. Lot 1 received all the ear corn they would eat, while lot 2 

 received about two-thirds as much as lot 1. Lot 1 received 2 lbs. of cotton-seed 

 meal per steer j)er day and lot 2, 2.25 lbs. It was the intention to feed lot 2 

 twice as much corn silage as was fed to lot 1 when on full feed. Lot 2 was 

 given all the corn silage they would eat with a limited grain ration. Lot 1 was 

 given all the corn they would eat with a limited silage ration. The intention 

 was to so apportion the feed that the 2 lots would get the same amount of 

 digestible matter, but lot 1 should receive the more concentrated ration — that is, 

 lot 2 should receive the greater amount of dry matter." 



The average daily gains per head were for lot 1 2.06 lbs., and for lot 2 1.87 

 lbs. The first 2 weeks lot 2 lost in weight, due to the change in feed. After 

 that the gains of both lots were uniform. 



" When corn silage forms a considerable portion of the ration of fattening 

 steers more care is required in getting them on full feed than when a dry 

 ration is fai exclusively, or silage is fed in small quantities. 



" Slaughter tests failed to show any difference in the carcasses of the two 

 lots that might be attributed to the difference in the feed. 



"At the prices for feed named in this article the steers receiving the smaller 

 amount of dry matter made the more economical gains." 



Work on the effect of shelter was continued (E. S. R., 10, p. G74) with 2 lots 

 of 12 steers each. Steers in an open shed made practically the same gain during 

 the feeding period, November 1.'} to March 10, as those in a well-ventilated 

 barn, but ate slightly more roughage. 



Rolled oats as a substitute for milk in calf feeding, J. Michels (North 

 Carolina Sta. Bui. 199, pp. 12-16, fig. 1). — An experiment lasting 13 weeks was 

 made to compare cooked rolled oats with skim milk as a feed for calves. Nine 

 calves fed the rolled oats made an average daily gain per head of 1.143 lbs., 

 whereas 2 calves fed the skim milk made an average daily gain per head of 

 1.21 lbs. " On the basis that 1 lb. of rolled oats is equal to 1 gal. of whole milk, 



